June 14, 2010
Measure to expand recycling to more haulers
Lawmakers divided over 4-cent fee
State officials say new legislation signed into law this week will get more Delawareans to recycle, divert trash from landfills and ultimately save the state and residents money.
Haulers and municipalities must offer curbside recycling pickup to all of Delaware’s single-family homes by 2011. To pay for it, lawmakers passed a temporary, controversial 4-cent fee on beverage containers. They will also phase out a 5-cent deposit fee on bottles.
Residents are not required to recycle, but the law requires towns, cities and unincorporated areas to offer curbside pickup along with bars and restaurants.
By 2013, curbside pickup services would be mandatory for apartment complexes, and by 2014, for other commercial entities. The goal is to divert municipal waste from landfills by 50 percent. The bill also seeks to create job opportunities related to waste disposal.
“This plan, which had bipartisan support, is comprehensive, cost-effective and practical. It’s designed to dramatically increase recycling while reducing burdens on businesses and restraining the cost of waste,” said Gov. Jack Markell in a statement. The governor signed Senate Bill 234, Tuesday, June 8.
Collin O’Mara, secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), said the new law would divert 300,000 tons of waste per year from landfills.
But the road to passing comprehensive recycling legislation has been littered by debate and wasted proposals.
Some lawmakers also hinted a legal challenge could arise because the law includes what they say is an appropriation, which requires a three-fourths majority vote in both chambers, a majority SB 234 failed to achieve.
A brief history
For years, lawmakers have struggled with implementing curbside recycling. Statewide, part of the challenge is that 90 percent of Delaware lies in unincorporated areas, said B.J. Vinton, chairman of the Recycling Public Advisory Committee (RPAC).
In the 1990s, RPAC was established under executive order by then-Gov. Tom Carper, as a public advisory board to the governor and lawmakers. Since then, relatively little headway has been made in the state until recently.
In 2008, as the economic downturn began, global demand for recycling decreased. At the same time, recycling companies faced increased costs to process recycling, with mounting inventories that sat idle in reclamation centers.
By April 2010, the Senate passed the comprehensive recycling measure, 17-3. In May, the House passed the bill 26-12.
In the past, Delaware Solid Waste Authority (DSWA) has spearheaded recycling efforts. SB 234 now opens up the market to more private haulers, who lawmakers hope will provide competitive bids for municipalities that will ultimately benefit residents by making recycling cheaper, said Vinton.
How it works
Under the new bill, the recycling council is charged with overseeing the statewide recycling transition, said Vinton. Currently, the state has about 150 drop-off centers. “DSWA is ceasing to perform recycling collection, but they will continue with the drop-off centers. All of their curbside programs will be eliminated and replaced by the private industry,” said Vinton.
SB 234 also does away with the state’s 5-cent deposit on beverage containers, known as the Delaware Beverage Container Law, or bottle bill, which has been in place since 1982.
In place of the bottle bill, SB 234 establishes a 4-cent per bottle fee, which, unlike a deposit, consumers will not get back.
The fee is scheduled to last for four years and the $12 million to $20 million in revenue anticipated from the 4-cent fee will be used to help fund municipalities’ recycling programs.
For the 5-cent bottle deposit, Vinton said only about one-third of deposits – or $3 million to $4 million in revenue a year – goes into the pockets of wholesalers when consumers do not collect their deposits. “That has been a source of controversy for years,” he said.
“The funds will really be used to pay for transitional costs and costs to both haulers and towns to help them implement the program,” said Vinton.
Bill affects the Cape Region
Lewes Mayor Jim Ford, president of Delaware’s League of Local Governments, said he has been involved with SB 234 from the beginning. “Municipalities had a chance to weigh in on the bill,” he said. “We were able to get less impact on the municipalities.”
Ford said the new program is designed to help offset initial costs for implementing citywide programs.
“I think ultimately what will happen is, it will be a pass-through from the city to residents and some fees for everyone involved. I don’t think there’s any way around that, but the cost will be softened from funding costs,” he said.
Currently, Lewes has hired for recycling Inland Service Corp., based in Texas with offices in Kent County. Lewes residents pay $55 per year for a twice-a-month curbside pickup.
“The general concept of recycling is very American. It’s like apple pie. Everyone should be receptive to doing it,” said Ford. Ford also pointed out that in SB 234, DSWA is to receive recyclables from municipalities without tipping fees.
In Milton, residents are not offered curbside recycling. Milton Mayor Cliff Newlands said the town has been in talks with M-T Trash in Greenwood as a potential hauler. “They approached us the other day to start to educate us and understand the bill. They’re coming along right now and trying to help us understand the bill from their point of view,” said Newlands.
Still, Newlands said the bill is somewhat difficult to understand.
“It’s confusing because it says recycling is mandatory, but it’s not mandatory. We have to provide recycling, but it’s voluntary?” said Newlands.
Vinton clarified the measure. “It is a requirement that each resident is provided the opportunity to recycle, but it is not required they participate in recycling, so basically the municipalities are required, just like haulers in unincorporated districts are required, to provide curbside recycling for households,” said Vinton.
In Rehoboth Beach, residents are already offered curbside recycling at no cost. Last year, the town entered into an agreement with First State Disposal, based in Lewes, after DSWA decided to raise the city’s cost. At first, the city considered charging residents $1 per pickup. But eventually, because First State’s bid for recycling came in so low, the city picked up a $38,000 tab. Recycling remains free for city residents.
Of the new proposal, Vinton said, “It’s huge for Delaware. It’s a great step forward. It’s going to eliminate a number of inefficiencies and inequities in the system.”
http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/201006-1-15/11004-recycling.html
